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CES: Neonode N2 Possibly The Best Of Show For Mobile

Neonode is a European company that makes the N2 mobile phone. It's been available in Europe for a few months, but should be available in the U.S. soon. That's good news, because it is probably the best touchscreen phone I've seen all week.

This little package packs a big punch. It is a miniscule little device that has but two buttons and the coolest touch interface since the iPhone. Rather than simply plant your fingers on portions of the screen to access buttons and features, you sweep your finger up and down, or back and forth to access different functions of the phone. But this isn't random. There are distinct areas of the screen you swipe to reach the main menu, a different area for the dial pad, and another area for the settings and controls.

Once inside the menus, you swipe sideways to move between items and pages in carousel fashion. Different applications make use of different swiping actions for different features, but you get used to it pretty quickly. There are nine separate areas on the screen for swiping. Once you've gotten to the page or menu you want, then you interact with the screen like any regular touch screen and touch your selection. It provides haptic feedback (micro vibration) to let you know you've touched it.

You can view a video demonstration of how it works here.

The standard feature list is pretty decent. Bluetooth, 2-megapixel camera, microSD support, audio and video player, Internet, SMS and MMS messaging, as well as access to email and Instant messaging apps.

It sells in Europe for about 350 Euros. Neonode is hoping to price it at about $299 with carrier subsidization.

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